1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to test equipment and systems for communications systems, and in particular, to test equipment for testing analog communication systems using remote control and processing of test data.
2. Description of the Related Art
As test equipment for communication systems has become more sophisticated, increasing amounts of processing power are included within the test unit. This has become more common as the systems being tested become increasingly complex. For example, it is increasingly common for the virtual equivalent of a computer, such as a personal computer, to exist within the test equipment, thereby allowing it to run many of the more complex operating systems, such as Windows by Microsoft Corporation. For many users, this increases the utility of the equipment since the user is generally familiar with the user interfaces made possible by such operating systems. It also allows the user to install third party software as well as writing his own software targeted to the particular application for which the test equipment is being used.
While this approach can make the test equipment powerful when used as a stand-alone unit, it becomes quite difficult to provide significant and fast interaction with more than one user, particularly when the user is trying to access the test equipment remotely, e.g., via a network of some kind. Since such test equipment not only measures the various signal parameters, but also processes the data to compute various characteristics of the signal, the interface between the test equipment and remote user becomes quite complex. Hence, the sophistication and processing power which is advantageous for stand alone testing becomes an impediment for accessing control by a remote user as well as multiple users.